Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Volleyball Opens California Trip With Ultimate Challenge, Faces No. 1 UCLA
January 24, 2016 | Men's Volleyball
In its first week of competition this season, the Princeton men's volleyball team played matches against the sixth-ranked team in the nation (Ohio State), and then two against the sixth-ranked team in Canada (Laval).
After three weeks off, the Tigers are ready to take another jump in competition. And they are taking the highest one possible.
Princeton will begin its annual California trip Monday night at 7:00 local time (10:00 Eastern) against the top-ranked UCLA Bruins in Pauley Pavilion. The match is being televised by the Pac-12 Networks (check local listings), and you can follow live stats here.
Princeton will also take on UC-San Diego and Concordia during its Finals break week. Princeton will take on the Tritons Wednesday at 6 pm Pacific time (live stats here), and will conclude the week with a Friday showdown (7 pm Pacific) at Concordia (live stats here).
The Tigers, who have five new starters from last season, showed some early progress during its matches with Ohio State and Laval. Sophomore Kendall Ratter averaged more than 2.2 kills and 1.2 digs per set, while classmate Billy Andrew — making his first collegiate starts — averaged more than two kills per set while hitting .455 overall.
Princeton does have the benefit of two starters with plenty of big-match experience. Both Devin Stearns and Chris Kennedy were on the court when Princeton defeated Penn State in the 2014 regular season and ultimately reached the EIVA final, and both helped Princeton defeat two nationally ranked teams last season (#13 Cal-State Northridge and #13 Harvard).
Princeton has defeated 11 nationally ranked teams since it became a full varsity program in 1997, but it has never beaten the top-ranked team.